RTPI Reveals Pieces from Archival Collection
Roger Tory Peterson Institute is the sole holder of the life’s work of our namesake’s influential artist and naturalist. While many of RTP’s pieces are featured in the various Peterson Field Guide publications, some of these have for many years remained concealed from public view in our extensive archives. A selection from this lesser-known RTP art collection finally met the light of day when it joined the work currently on display at our Jamestown, NY headquarters. Unless you’ve visited our galleries recently, you have not seen these! Some of these pieces will soon embark on the first-ever...
Read MoreHemlock Woolly Adelgid Discovered in Chautauqua County!
“Unfortunately we found hemlock woolly adelgid on 5 hemlocks in the (SUNY Fredonia) Campus Woodlot today. Hemlock woolly adelgid, an aphid from China, attacks and kills hemlocks in a few years. There are no survivors. Hemlocks have already been wiped out in the southern Appalachians and the infestation is moving north. Last winter we located 60 infested hemlocks in the Campus Woodlot and Campus Facilities responded and stem injected the trees. We have made great progress — we will more exhaustively monitor the Campus Woodlot in the near future and hopefully not find anymore. We...
Read MoreThe Ubiquitous Chicken
Written by Melanie Smith, Communications Coordinator. The domestic chicken, is and has long been a ubiquitous global presence. Indeed, one is hard pressed to identify a culture that isn’t familiar with this common bird. Recall, from your youth, the numerous nursery rhymes and fairy tales featuring hens or roosters – Multiply that familiarity across many generations and myriad geographic boundaries, and you begin to gain perspective into the global dominance of this particular avian species. Gallus gallus domesticus has been the stuff of legend and folklore worldwide going back...
Read MoreCitizen Science Update; HWA Survey Results
This past Saturday, staff from RTPI and the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, along with JCC students and community volunteers, conducted a Hemlock Woolly Adelgid survey on the Cassadaga Creek Preserve in the Town of Stockton, NY. This preserve is a high priority monitoring site because it has one of the highest densities of hemlocks out of all of the CWC preserves, and also because it’s position along a stream creates a potential corridor by which birds and other wildlife could potentially transfer the invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid insect pest. As you may glean from the photograph in...
Read MoreA Look at Hemlock Trees through the Eyes of a Conservation Intern
Written by Bryce Alexander, Conservation Intern Edited by Melanie Smith, Communications Coordinator Every time I walk through the local woods, I am always surprised by the number of Hemlock trees that are found in our forests. It’s weird to think though, that these trees are in great danger from an invasive species known as Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, also known as HWA. I have personally observed a large number of Hemlock trees, and luckily none of these appear have been affected by this invasive pest yet. Hemlock trees are an important part of the ecosystems in which they are found, and should...
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